Lubrication of textile fibers



Patented May 3, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GUSTAVE LECOMTE, OFBOUSSILLON, FRANCE, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO IDU PON'I. BAYOIICOMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE LUBRICATION OFTEXTILE FIBERS This invention relates to the art of dressi ing textilethreads or fibers and more particularly tothe dressing or coatingof'cellulose acetate threads or fibers. I

Textile threads or fibers of all sources have been treated for thepurpose of impartingto them luster, softness and flexibility or tofacilitate the finishing operations. to the physical and chemicalproperties of the various fibers, it is desirable that the dressingproduce other results. For instance, cellulose acetate threads or fibershave a j tendency to show electrification phenomenon,

and it is desirable in the treatment of these '15 materials to choose asubstance or composition which will counteract or offset this effect aswell as dress the fibers. The methods of treatment and compositionsemployed heretofore made use of varizo ous oils, such as mineral oils,drying'oils or animal and vegetable oils. ,These oils, though theypossess satisfactory" dressing characteristics, have disadvantages whichrender their use unsatisfactory. Mineral I oils, such as araflin oil,Vaseline oil and the like, have t e disadvantage of not beingsaponifiable. Also they are very difiicult to remove... These areserious faults with re-.

gard to the subsequent treatments of the thread'or fiber and especiallyin dyeing.

Drying oils, such as linseed oil, dry and form resins which are alsovery difiicult to remove by any ordinary treatment. Animal and vegetableoils, such as olive oil and neats-foot oil, though capableofsaponification, have the unfortunate property of becoming rancid I andof impregnating the thread or fabric with an objectionable odor which isdifficult or impossible to remove. '1 40 I have found that I canovercome the above set forth disadvantages and produce a dressed I orcoated thread or fiber by using dressing compositions includingoxidizing semi-drying vegetable oils. It is, therefore, an object a ofthis invention to dress or coat threads or fibers with a compositionwhich will impart the desirable characteristics without becoming rancidor resinifi'edg It is a further ob ect of thisjnvention to dress or coatthreads dfifibers with a commi rewin Application filed April 27, 1928,Serial No. 273,439, and in France December 24', 1927.

position which is capable of being easily removed and which will notinterfere with the subsequent operations of the thread.

A specific object of this invention is to dress i or coat celluloseacetate threads or fibers so that not only will; the finishing operationthereof be "facilitated but the electrification L phenomenon thereofwill be counteracted or tions of oxidation oils having definite con- 6stants can be uniformly prepared. 1.

These oxidized oils. are very satisfactory 7 for dressing textilefibers. When applied to g' the fibers, they impart a good smoothness andexcellent texture. Due to their high viscosity the oils keep thefilaments in a compact bundle. They also are capable of producing stableand concentrated soapy emulsions without the use of emulsifying agents.-

Furthermore, these oilscan readily and easily be removed from the fibersby mere Q treatment with water at a low temperature.

On storage there is no change in the odor of i the oil or in the textureof the fiber. These When these oils are oils are not subject torancidityor oxidation and are rather stable.

applied to'cellulose acetate fibers they-not 7 only facilitatesubsequent operations, but

y also counteract, suppress-or oil'setthe electrification phenomenon.

These oi'l's may be applied tothe in any one of various ways.Forexample, the oils, per se, may be applied to the fibers. If

desired, theoils may be emulsifiedin water and the aqueous emulsionapplied to the fiber; or, the-oils may be dissolved in some. solvent,preferably volatile, and the solution applied tothe fibers. The oil,emulsion, or solution thereof, is applied to the fibers in. any suitablemanner. If an emulsion of :Oil is used, the

impregnated or coated fabric is subsequently subjected to a drying toremove the water.

In case a solution of oil in some volatile solvent is used, afterapplication to the fibers, I the solvent may be recovered by any wellknown means.

In order to more clearly explain this in vention the following specificexamples are set forth:

I Emmple 1.-Oxidized rapeseed oil having an iodine number of -60 and aviscosity of 20-25 C. G. S. is emulsified in water with the aid of 245%of silk throwsters soap. A solution having a 20-25% concentration of theoil produces satisfactory results. It is obvious that otherconcentrations and emulsifying agents may be used.

Erampfe $2.--Oxidized cottonseed oil is dissolved in heavy gasoline. Theuse of a solution containing 23% of oil has given satisfactory results.Concentrations and sol.- vents other than those specifically set forthmay be used. After application of this solution to the threads orfibers, the treated threads or fibers are dried and the solventrecovered.

Various materials may be added to the luhrivatingcomposition to producespecial qualities. For example, if special qualities of texture.smoothness or cohesion are desired. small quantities of otherlubricating or adhesive compounds or substances, such as olive oil,castor oil, sheeps wool grease and the like, may be added to the oilcomposition.

The invention is notintended to be limited to the. precise and exactdetails as set forth above, since it is obvious that variousmodifications may be made without departing from the nature and scopeofv the invention.

I claim: a

1. Textile fibers or threads coated with a. composition comprising anoxidized scmidrying vegetable oil.

2. Textile fibers or threads coated with a colmposition comprisingoxidized cottonseed o1 Y 3. Artificial textile fibers or thrcads coatedwith a composition comprising anoxidizcd semi-drying vegetable oil.

4. Cellulose acetate fibers or threads coated with a compositioncomprising an oxidized -semi-drying vegetable oil.

5. Cellulose acetate fibers or threads coated with a compositioncomprising oxidized cottonseed oil.

6. Cellulose acetate fibers or threads coated with a compositioncomprising oxidized cottonseed oil and a small quantity of anotherlubricant.

7. Artificial textile fibers or threads coated with a compositioncomprising oxidized cottonseed oil.

fibers 8. Artificial textile or threads formed of a cellulose derivativecoated with rapeseed oil.

fibers or threads 12. Artificial textile formed of a cellulosederivative coated with a i pomposition comprising oxidized rapeseed o13.v Cellulose acetate fibers or threads coated with a compositioncomprising oxidized cottonseed oil.

In testimony whereof I. have atfixed my signature to this specification.

GUSTAVE LECOMTE.

